Briefings

UW Students Win National, International Awards and Competitions on Unprecedented Scale

This spring, while the UW men’s basketball team was doing its part for national recognition, UW students were winning U.S. and international awards and competitions on an unprecedented scale. They include national academic titles in math and ethics, along with individual wins in Gates, Truman, Javits, Churchill, Goldwater and Udall scholarships.

“It’s been a remarkable run for our students in this year’s competition for these highly sought-after awards,” says UW President Mark Emmert, ’75. “It is a testament to their abilities and to the education they’re getting at the University. It also makes a very strong statement: UW students compete academically—and win—with the best in the nation.”

Two students, Megan Matthews and Elizabeth Gray, received Gates Cambridge Scholarships for graduate study at the University of Cambridge. Loyce Mbewa, a junior majoring in medical geography with a minor in public health, has been selected as a Truman Scholar for 2005.

Jared Silvia, a senior, has been awarded one of just 11 Churchill Scholarships in the U.S. to pursue graduate study in engineering, mathematics or the sciences at Cambridge University. Three UW students were selected as Goldwater Scholars: Lesley Everett, Jason Parker and Anna Schneider. The Goldwater program recognizes outstanding students pursuing careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.

Kathleen Belew, ’05, has received a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Yale’s American studies program. Kayanna Warren, a senior, has been awarded a Morris Udall Scholarship, intended for students who will pursue careers related to environmental policy.

A team of six UW undergraduate students and two graduate coaches received top honors at the National Ethics Bowl competition in San Antonio. They were able to beat out the best 35 teams from around the country.

Also, a team of UW math students was selected as outstanding winners in the worldwide 2005 Math Modeling Contest, keeping pace with teams from such math powerhouses as MIT, Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley. This is the fifth time in the past four years that a UW team has received top honors in one of the competition’s categories.